WHAT IS START YOUR OWN WINERY?

Anyone with a passion for wine can start a winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Really. And they can do it without a ton of cash or winemaking knowledge.

Too good to be true? Not now.

The folks at Bishop Creek Cellars (BCC) and Urban Wineworks (UWW) have put together a “Start Your Own Winery” program. Throughout the course of a year program participants take part in every aspect of the winemaking process from harvest and crush to fermentation, aging and bottling. At program’s end participants have created their own signature Pinot Noir bottled with a personalized label. It is really amazing. People with any level of knowledge can participate.

The program begins in September with a trip to the Bishop Creek Vineyard near Yamhill, Oregon. Therein, participants learn about vines, soil and harvest. After harvest, they come to the Bishop Creek tasting room in Portland, Urban Wineworks, to crush the grapes, and learn about fermentation, alcohol content and barrel aging. By the spring they’ll discuss label designs, and come August, participants will bottle two cases of their own custom Pinot Noir.

Participants can also elect to join the “Cellar Masters” program, where production is increased to a half barrel (12 1/2 cases) or a full barrel. “Cellar Masters” have the same schedule but receive an additional hands-on vineyard seminar, including a catered picnic with Vineyard Manager Jeremy Saville and Winemaker Marcus Goodfellow.

The “Start Your Own Winery” concept, according to past participants, involves learning about wine by making it. “Hands-on experience is by far the best way to learn,” says one UWW staffer. “Instead of reading about wine I thought we could bump it up a notch and turn wine novices into cellar pros.”

For information call 503-226-9797, or use our handy dandy website info request form.

Quotes from Start Your Own Winery Members.